Controlled density cushioning



Jan. 26, 1960 A. e. PERRY ETAL CONTROLLED DENSITY CUSHIONING Filed Oct.25, 1957 FIGS INVENTORS ATTORNEY Ymr r WI.

United States Pate CONTROLLED DENSITY CUSHIONIN G Arthur G. Perry,Worcester, and Philip Gilfix, Newton, Mass., assignors to LelaniteCorporation, Webster, Mass., a corporation of Massachusetts ApplicationOctober 23, 1957, Serial No. 691,971 4 Claims. (Cl. 229-14) Thisinvention relates to a cushioning material, in which is incorporated acontrolled density or controlled resistance to pressure in any desiredsection thereof. The invention incorporatesthe use of a moldedcushioning unit which has. incorporated in the sides, ends, top andbottom thereof a coil of wound rubberized cohesive fibrous material,said coil being most conveniently provided in the form of a ribbon woundupon itself a predetermined number of times with the ends connected tothe coil; and the invention contemplates the provision of theserubberized fibrous material coils where desired, varying in size,density and number of coils, depending upon the desirability of denseror lighter cushioning areas in the particular chosen sections of themolded form, so that areas of heavier density are provided in the moldedform, said heavier densities being occasioned by the strips of thecoiled and rubberized fibrous material cemented and fastened inposition.

A further object of the invention includes the provision of the moldedform above described in which the coils are all integrally connected ina single molded form by the use of additional quantities of relativelyloose rub-berized fibrous material which binds the coils into a singlemass using a suitable adhesive.

Another object of the invention resides in the provision of the deviceas above described wherein the coils are located on edge as respects thedirection of pressure to be applied and therefore provide addedresistance due to the alignment of the fibers and the shape of theribbon itself of which the coils are made, said ribbons being wider incomparison with their flat or uncoiled thickness; and the provision of adevice as described in which the coils are not fully wound at thecenters thereof and the size of the resultant hole in the center of thecoils aids in controlling the resistance of the coil to the appliedpressure.

Our invention further relates to arrangements and combinations of partswhich will be hereinafter described and more particularly pointed out inthe appended claims.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view illustrating a device made according to thepresent invention;

Fig. 2 is a section on line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a bottom plan view of the device of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a sectional view of the device, taken at right angles to Fig.2; and

Fig. 5 illustrates a connection between the ends of the coils.

This same idea also covers different forms and in addition to the use ofthe coils is to be described, the invention may be accomplished with theuse of springs, foam rubber, solid rubber and other types of resilientmaterials. However, in order to illustrate the invention, the same isherein disclosed as made mainly of rubberized fiber, which fiber due tothe adhesion of separate fibers to each other, forms itself a resilientcohesive unitary padding which is springy but light in weight.

In this illustration, the fiber usedis rubberized Istle or Tampico fiber(Ixtle De Lechuguilla), the same being in common use in thisinvention;,nevertheless horse or hog hair or blends of,both,'forexample, may be used as fibrous materialwith similar facility. Thepurpose of rubberizing is only to provide a permanent springy bondingagent as the fibrous strands cross one "another and any other suitableadhesive iswithin the scope of this invention. p

Referring now to Fig. 1, the reference numeral'10 indicates in general aportion of a container such as a box, crate, case, can, cylinder,sphere, or the like for containing fragile material such. as forinstance instruments. This. container or crate part is convenientlymolded from loose rubberized. fiber or hair or other materials such ascellulosic-plastic-synthetic placed in a. form and heated and pressed tothe form desired.

The invention in the present case resides in using as a foundation forthe more or lessloose rubberized fiber, a series of coils of rubberizedfiber, said coils beingv made of ribbons of' rubberized fiber, saidribbons preferably having a width greater than the thickness thereof.

In Fig. 1 there is represented a coil 12 in a side wall of the containeror crate part, and this coilmay be duplicated .at 14 at the oppositeside thereof. The coils 12 and 14 each comprise a series of; overlappingor coiled runs of .the rubberized fiber ribbon material described, auditwill be seen that these coils provide a considerable resistance topressure in a lateral direction because the individual coils are placedon edge as respects the walls of the container or crate as clearly shownin Fig. l.

The coil 12 in Fig. 1 is shown as comprising five separate coils ofmaterial, but this number of coils of course is variable, depending uponthe resistance to pressure which is desired; and coil 12 and coil 14 maybe made of different numbers of coils, depending upon the resistance topressure expected at the particular location.

Coils 12 and 14 are open at their centers as illustrated at 16. Thecoils could be wound tighter than shown to reduce the size of theopening, but this provides a further control of the expected deformationof the container or crate and the crushing action applied to aparticular side wall of the part.

At the top of the container or crate part 10, there is another coil 18which is similar to those at 12 and 14, and at the ends there areprovided coils 20 and 22 which are similar but in this case are shown assmaller, having a lesser area and lesser number of coils. However, allthe coils are shown as having open centers, as this is desirable in mostinstances.

In making the container or crate part, the coils described are placed ina form, together with an amount of loose rubberized fibrous material,and heat and pressure is applied to form the unitary padded cushioningcontainer part. The unit as shown at 10 has the areas of greatestresistance to pressure defined by the individual coils 12, 18, 20, etc.

In Fig. 5 there is shown a method of securing the coils together. Thesecoils could merely be cemented at intervals or throughout theircontacting areas, but it is desirable to provide adherence areas as bycementing at 24 at the ends 26 of the respective coils; and furthermoreif desired nail-like fasteners 28 maybe applied in order to connect theends to the coils mechanically.

The container or crate part thus described may be provided with a coverof similar material to close the opening at 30 clearly shown in Fig.provided for the purpose of receiving an object to be transported. Insome cases, the container or crate part 10 will be duplicated withopenings 30 joined, and in any event the entire crate then provides avery safe and 4, and this opening is ,completelyand adequately protectedby the cushioning Ias described herein, and it will be seen that thesame is made with Controlled densities for resistance to pressure in anydesired section of the same. The denser cushioning materials are used inquantity in the sections that will receive'the heavier pressures, andthe other parts of the molded unit are held together with likerubberized materials which are however not coiled, but relativelyloosely applied.

Having thus described tages thereof, we do not wish to be limitedtothedetails herein disclosed, otherwise thanvas set forth in the claims,but what we claim is: i

l. A device comprising part of a cushioning member I,

for a container for fragile articles, said part being in the form of aresilient block of relatively loose fibrous material, said block havinga generally central recess therein forming an opening, a series ofconnected end and side walls and a bottom, the latter being connected toall .of said walls, said walls and bottom presenting continuous surfacesinteriorly and exteriorly of the part, said surfaces being generallysmooth and well spaced so that the walls and bottom are relativelythick, and means forming 'denser and more crush-proof areas: in certainof said walls and between the said surfaces at predetermined locationstherein, leaving the remainder of the said part less dense, said meanscomprising more highly com.

pressed masses of similar fibrous material.

our invention and the advan- M 2. The device of claim 1 wherein saidmasses comprise coils of the fibrous material.

3. The device of claim 1 wherein said masses comprise coils of fibrousmaterial, said coils being located on edge at right angles to therespective surfaces adjacent thereto.

4. A cushioning member part comprising a padding provided with heavierand denser resilient materials of like nature at predetermined points,said padding being in the form of a block having a recess thereinforming walls of substantially uniform section, and the heavier densermaterial being located in the walls, said denser material comprisingwound coils of adhesive fiber in the walls, the coils being separate,and means connecting the coils, the latter being secured in a mass inthe part, said means including rubberized fiber in loose but cohesiveform, all the coils and loose fiber forming a continuous mass shaped toreceive an object to be protected.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,988,843 Heldenbrand Jan. 22, 1935 1,997,905 Hellman Apr. 16, 19352,036,876 vKraft Apr. 7, 1936 2,147,362 Bloomberg Feb. 14, 19392,298,986 Taylor Oct. 13, 1942 2,301,596 Wells Nov. 10, 1942 2,688,152Marco Sept. 7, 1954 2,690,947 Roehrl Oct. 5, 1954 2,775,998 Osborn Jan.1, 1957 FOREIGN PATENTS 446,300 Great Britain Apr. 28, 1936

